Matt Vautour: Another No. 1 receiver requests a trade, can Patriots finally make a deal?

If the clock struck 7 on Thursday night and the Patriots hadn’t already placed a call to the Washington Commanders’ personnel office, somebody isn’t doing his job.

During joint practices next week, if Patriots staffers aren’t dropping not-so-casual hints anytime they’re in earshot of a member of the Commanders’ brass, somebody is blowing it.

And if it’s possible to pull off a trade for Washington receiver Terry McLaurin, and the Patriots don’t make it happen, they are missing another huge opportunity.

McLaurin, who has racked up over 1,000 receiving yards each of the last five seasons for the Commanders, doesn’t want to be a Commander anymore. At least not for what Washington is set to pay him. Already sitting out, McLaurin’s trade request became public a little after 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, a declaration that should have started wheels turning in earnest in Foxborough.

The Patriots have lots of money and lots of targets available if he’d like to join a team that appears trending upward. New England’s almost $60 million of cap space is nearly $9 million more than anyone else.

The Patriots have been desperately searching for an elite pass catcher since Julian Edelman retired.

They didn’t land a clear-cut top receiver in free agency and didn’t draft one until the third round. They’re really hoping that Stefon Diggs can bounce back from last year’s torn ACL. While he’s looked good so far, that’s a lot to ask of a guy who is playing on a surgically-repaired knee and a 31-year-old body, punished by 10 seasons of wear and tear.

It’s time to crack the piggy bank.

ESPN ranked McLaurin as its No. 11 receiver in the NFL earlier this summer. No current Patriot was in the top 26.

Add McLaurin and the rest of the receivers instantly get better when opponents have to account for him. Drake Maye certainly gets better and if Maye gets better, it’ll be that much easier to convince receivers to choose New England in the future.

Nobody knows better than the Patriots how difficult it is to pull off a deal like this. It’s still much more likely that McLaurin and Washington come to an eventual agreement. The Commanders, who are trying to build off of last year’s surprise success, would take a step back without their top receiver. They could dig in their heels and wait. But they don’t have a lot of wiggle room with just $17.2 million in cap space available according to Spotrac. Even if they wanted to give McLaurin what he’s asking for, it’s not that simple.

Which leaves the door open for Mike Vrabel’s crew.

DraftKings released betting odds for where McLaurin will play in 2025. Washington was first, but New England was second at -450 because of their sizable war chest.

McLaurin has to be willing to play in New England. If the Commanders decide to explore deals, nobody is going to trade the assets required to land him without an agreement in place on an extension, so they’re going to have to convince him to be a Patriot.

New England can pay him what he wants. Money hasn’t been enough for the Patriots in recent years.

The Patriots have thrown a lot of lines in the water without landing the big fish they need at receiver. They’ve pursued Brandon Aiyuk, Calvin Ridley, Deebo Samuel, Cooper Kupp, Chris Godwin and DK Metcalf, and despite lucrative contract offers, they each swiped left.

The receivers need to be convinced New England is a good situation to play in, and for that to be true, the Patriots need better receivers. McLaurin has a chance to end that cycle. He and Vrabel share Ohio State roots, which could start a potential courtship off on a good note.

While there has been some optimism surrounding the Patriots’ young receivers so far in camp, that comes from comparing this year’s wideouts to those of the recent past. At this point last year, Ja’Lynn Polk was drawing strong early reviews from Foxborough’s backfields. Now he could lose his roster spot to an undrafted guy named Efton.

It’s OK to overpay to get him. If they pay him a little more money or offer Washington slightly better compensation to get him, it’ll be worth it in the long run.

Read the original article on MassLive.

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Matt Vautour: Another No. 1 receiver requests a trade, can Patriots finally make a deal?

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